Places serving up a mix of American pride, British cuisine, Olympic-party atmosphere

Sip drinks in honor of the London Olympics, visit bars showing our U.S. athletes striving for gold, and support the ingenuity of local businesses doing Olympics-themed marketing before the Olympic flame is extinguished. Like:

There’s an opening ceremony viewing party here, with free chips and salsa, $5.95 sandwiches and burgers. $2 draft beers from 1 to 8 p.m. From 5 to 8 p.m. get a $3 well drink--the Tom Collins gin-lemon juice-soda-sugar syrup cocktail has a distinct British past traced right back to London and, inexplicably, a bartender named John Collins.

The opening ceremony will be on screens here starting at 7:30 p.m. And in hands? Probably that quintessentially British summer drink, credited to a 19-century shellfish-monger: The Pimm's Cup, typically gin, liqueur, fruit juices, spices and ginger ale, selling for $4 on Friday. Or get 20-ounce Imperial pints of Fuller's London Pride for $4.95.

British cuisine

There's an old joke I'll spare you about who'd make the best engineers, chefs and police, choosing from a British, French or German roster. Suffice it to say, the London Olympic Games have given British cuisine a chance to reform its reputation, someone says in a New York Daily News piece.

This pub won U.S. Soccer Bar of the Year in 2011, so you better believe they’re opening up early, serving breakfast along with coffee, OJ, mimosas and beer on tap for the U.S. Women's Olympic soccer games. On Saturday, July 28 our ladies take on Colombia. On Tuesday the 31st a match against North Korea is scheduled. O'Brien's breakfast of champions runs 9-10 a.m. The regular menu starts at 11 a.m.

Drinks made in honor of the London Olympics

You’ll find a version of this British beertail over at Jaynes Gastropub. Also, the Islands restaurant chain is doing a Shandy with lemonade, mango and beer for $2.95 (lunch price) throughout the Olympic games (July 27 through Aug. 12). They call it the "I-Shandy."

But back to the Normal Heights spot with the giant Union Jack: Jaynes goes with 7-Up in lieu of lemonade for its refreshing Shandy.

And did you know "shandy" is slang in the U.K. for alcoholic drinks in general?

In the Lounge, from July 27 through Aug. 12, you’ll get a free treat whenever America wins the gold. Choose either an Olympic Freeze (housemade black cherry gelato) or an Olympic Float (sparkling wine and gelato).

Which means you’ll really only want to go when our strong events are being televised. See a list of American athletes with best chance at glory, here.

Chef Eugenio Martignago is also doing a British pub-grub menu in honor of the Olympics (bangers and mash, fish and chips, English trifle desserts in a martini glass).